Pop star Ariana Grande has dropped out of what would have been her debut appearance in London’s West End, the show’s producers said yesterday, as a representative for the singer said she wants to take a “step back” from the public eye.
Grande had been slated to star opposite her Wicked castmate Jonathan Bailey in the Stephen Sondheim musical Sunday in The Park with George in the summer of 2027 at London’s Barbican theater.
But the 33-year-old singer’s representative said she wanted a “much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances” when her current tour wraps in London on 1 September.
“We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support,” producers of the Sunday in The Park with George said in a statement posted on X, adding that the show would go ahead as planned and casting would be announced “in due course”.
“We wish her nothing but the best.”
Grande’s representative told People magazine that while the Grammy-winning artist is eager to complete her tour, she wants to take a “step back from visibility”, as her many appearances have “led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny”.
The announcement comes as Grande faces renewed public scrutiny about her health. She has said before that body-shaming comments are “really dangerous”.
Hugely successful
Grande began her career as a teen on Broadway before embarking on a hugely successful pop career
Her star turn as Glinda in the film adaptation of Wicked earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
But the massive success of the film and its sequel Wicked: For Good meant Grande was doing constant media appearances for the better part of two years.
She is set to appear in the comedy Focker-in-Law opposite Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, which hits theaters in November.
Source: AFP